Mar'ie sees rupiah fall as excessive

Mar'ie sees rupiah fall as excessive

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad has said the
rate of the rupiah depreciation against the American dollar had,
thus far, been extremely excessive and in defiance of all sound
economic parameters.

"The rupiah rate, which has lately hovered between 4,950 and
5,000 to the dollar, no longer reflects the true condition of our
economy," Mar'ie said over the weekend in Bengkulu.

He expressed confidence that the rupiah would eventually
strengthen to a more reasonable rate. But he stopped short of
estimating what should be the real worth of the rupiah vis-a-vis
the greenback.

"I don't think something that is abnormal could last forever,"
Mar'ie said when he inaugurated a new venture capital company in
Bengkulu, a province in southwest Sumatra.

The rupiah closed last week at 5,000 against the dollar,
reflecting a 53 percent depreciation since July, when financial
crises started in several East Asian countries, beginning with
Thailand.

Mar'ie sees the currency turbulence facing the nation as much
more than simply a monetary upheaval.

"We are encountering uphill challenges or a crisis of the 21st
century." he pointed out.

But this does not mean we are entering a dead-end dark tunnel,
Mar'ie added.

"Instead of being mired in pessimism, we should work harder,
pooling our resources and doing our homework to get out of this
crisis."

He said not all businesses were bleak amid the currency
upheaval, citing agrobusinesses such as shrimp farming and tree
crops as quite promising in the export market.

"These agrobusinesses are very promising because their costs
are almost entirely in rupiah and their products are enjoying
strong demand in the international market," he pointed out.

Mar'ie added that the newly established venture capital
company would help develop small businesses in Bengkulu through
equity and loan funds.

PT Sarana Bengkulu Ventura is jointly owned by the state
venture capital company PT Bahana Artha Ventura, businessmen
Hutomo Mandala Putra, Robby Sumampouw and Rully Chairul Anwar,
and major companies such as PT Gudang Garam and Bank Central
Asia. (vin)